The rise in football culture across New York is no secret.
From five-a-side on a Tuesday night and the myriad of supporters clubs dotted across the city, to the increase in adidas Sambas and jerseys on the streets, the influence football is having on NY is more than clear to see.
One brand that has helped to unearth and grow the burgeoning scene is Ragazzi FC, a collective of like-minded individuals founded in Miami back in 2017.
Despite its relatively short life span so far (one that includes COVID), Ragazzi FC has managed to grow from a group of friends playing football and creating tunes, into a fully functioning music collective and creative studio.
“We’ve been able to build a growing international community through music, sport, and design that’s allowed us to showcase our tastes and inspirations,” explains Sam Steffens, one of the co-founders.
“We started off making house music playlists on Soundcloud, and today we spin at notable venues around the world, produce music, do design work, and even have a football club.”
Fans of Ragazzi’s Instagram page will be well aware of its admiration of football and the culture that surrounds it. And while its not exclusive to it, Ragazzi’s main source of inspiration undoubtedly derives from the Italian game.
“There’s an essence of classiness and drama that Italian football culture has,” continues Steffens. “Everything from the top clubs’ histories, to the icons that have played there, and even the way they were styled on and off the pitch all drive our inspirations.”
Italian football has played such an integral part in where the brand is today that it’s released a number of Ragazzi-infused collections that pay homage to some of Serie A’s greatest ever sides – the latest of which being Juventus.
Shot in and around the lower east side, Ragazzi celebrates La Vecchia Signora and its heritage with a capsule in tandem with adidas comprising jerseys, tees, and a stand-out tracksuit, with shirt sponsors from NY-based Regina’s Grocery (an Italian deli, of course).
This collection – which lands in limited quantities online today with a portion of the proceeds being donated to a Lower Easy Side community-driven charity – follows an Inter Milan-inspired drop earlier this year which garnered huge crowds with a release outside Regina’s.
While Ragazzi isn’t the first brand to help grow NY’s football scene, Steffens believes the collective has certainly gone some way to helping it.
“I think the New York scene is just an accelerated version of the game’s growth across the country. Football has always been played in the city but recently we’ve started to see people styling themselves with kits and wearing shoes like an Adidas Samba,” he continued.
“There are clubs like Ten’s Club, Bowery F.C., and Fly Nowhere that have done incredible work to really grow the excitement around the game. Together we can make “football style” a staple in New York.”
